Of bowties and fezzes
by Sapph-ABE
Summary: Various one-shots for the Eleventh Doctor and companions.
1. Chapter 1  Water pistol

_It's been too long. He hasn't told us. We know but he hasn't told us._

"Earth to Amy, Earth to Amy, come in Amy."

_He better not mess it up again._ "Amy to Centurion, I'm in, Centurion." _Like he did with this Roman._

"You haven't done anything for an hour."

_Wonder if he'll stop by._

"Hello?"

"He's going to come." _He has to._

"Oh, come on, can we not think about him for a little while? He's alive."

_But I haven't seen him._ "He's coming. He is going to come."

Pause. "Yes. I hope so too."

_Hope the carolers don't scare him off, you mean._ "Doorbell again."

"Can we just ignore them?"

_I wish._ "It's the doorbell, we have to check. You look."

"Oh fine. But I'm not drenching them. That's your idea."

_I barely squirted that last bunch. Not like they froze or anything._

Silent night, holy night...

_Silent night... I hate the Silence._

"False alarm, again. Now can we please let the carolers be?"

"They are disturbing the peace. No." _He might come. I won't miss him._

"Then can we eat? A nice, Christmas dinner that we worked so hard on?"

_We. Hah. One person made that dinner. _We_, right._ "You got three out, yeah?"

"Is River coming? I haven't seen her."

_River. Wish she'd come. That would be nice._ "No, Rory. It's Christmas. Get another."

"Why?"

"Please?" _Does he really not know?_

"Fine. If it'll make you happy. Remember happy? What you used to be? Happy was nice."

_Happy was nice. Yes. Just not tonight._

"Door, Amy."

_You're two rooms away, don't have to shout._ "Got it." _And my water pistol._

"Don't soak them too bad!"

_Right. _"Won't." _Not thinking about what I'm saying, it's probably what I mean. Too tired to think._ "Don't want to be wet on a night like this-" _oh. It's him._

_IT'S HIM!_


	2. Chapter 2 Lake Silencio

It's hot in America today. Or at least it looks hot. Very … desert-y. Deserts look hot, very uncomfortably warm, and I'm not in the desert right now. I'm by a lake.

Lakes aren't hot. Not on Earth. Usually.

Not really by a lake though, I'm on a road. Roads aren't much fun, they're so _boring_, one strip of asphalt and all that there. Flying is so much better, so why do I have a car? I don't drive a car.

Well, the Ponds are here -not the Williamses, that's just silly, who would walk up and say "Hello, is this the Williams' house? Are any of the Williamses home?" because that sounds just a _bit_ awkward- and I think they're on time. I almost never am, I'm normally late but I- am- NEVER late! I show up just exactly when I should, except for a few times and those were _accidents_.

I've got to get back on track -except there aren't any tracks around- why would there be tracks? Hunting tracks or train tracks or tracks from … I just _love_ the way I think, never mean to get anything done and I do. I've got to track a river down. Not River, _a_ river.

They're looking around, now. Little funny. They have no clue why they're here, but … they came. I knew they would -I found out, I had to- because they're them. Fish fingers and custard, Amy did the right thing. And Rory. Rory did too. My companions, really just very loyal, but I can't call them that anymore. Today's it. The very last day I can have with them. They're my _friends_.

… I'm stalling, I just know it.

Today's the day time says I die. Time is all knotted up, today, not even sure if I'm me right now. I skipped most of today. Today isn't a very fun day.

The Ponds were just dropped off in the middle of nowhere and I'm talking to myself inside my head. I wonder how my Stetson matches an American accent …

"Howdy."


	3. Chapter 3 This That Doctor

The Doctor will run.

He'll run, run as fast as he can, run like something's chasing him. He'll turn corners and dodge anything in his way.

Holding out the sonic screwdriver from his future, he will deactivate the gravity shaft that leads to the core of the planet. He'll plunge, holding the screwdriver before him, falling, falling.

The Doctor will keep running.

He'll swerve, then jam it into a spot that he knows will work. It doesn't matter what he'll say. He'll look back at CAL, and CAL will smile at him. CAL will smile for him. And then she will accept what he'll be doing and she'll help him.

The Doctor will save River Song.

He will be at the Library, on the Library, _the_ Library, so big it doesn't need a name, just a great big The. The whole planet, one library. And he will meet Professor River Song. Archaeologist.

He'll transfer the data ghost from the screwdriver his future self would have made already, into the computer, into CAL, her mind. River Song will live there. She'll live there and be happy and alive.

But the Doctor won't do any of those things.

That Doctor would. Not this Doctor.

This Doctor will prepare everything. He will take River Melody Song Pond to those towers, those wonderful, horrible towers. It'll be the last time she sees him, except for the first time he sees her.

They will always meet in the wrong order, but not every time. Someday … someday …

That Doctor will go back to Donna Noble. He won't know the terrible thing that will be going to happen. She'll help him, comfort him. Stop him. Just like she was there for, and perfectly happy doing. She won't want more, or need more. She'll know, and so will he, and neither will mind because they will be friends, best friends.

Someday, this Doctor will meet River Song in the right order. He will wait as long as it takes, do whatever he has to do. It will happen.

This Doctor is not that Doctor. He was once, but he isn't, and he won't be. It will have been a great loss to all life, because that Doctor really was the Doctor.

But this Doctor just has to try all that much harder so that he'll be everything that that Doctor was.


End file.
